Netgear recently introduced the NeoTV NTV300, a compact, low power, highly integrated, streaming media player that’s quite similar to Roku’s latest devices. The product is clearly an attempt to capture a slice of the rapidly growing streaming media player market, currently dominated by Apple and Roku. While the device currently only has a third to half the number of content apps as Roku provides, it does implement a more user-friendly menu system and also undercuts Roku’s pricing.
Pros and cons…
Pros:
- Over 160 content channels and more on the way; device provides one of the most complete sets of VOD movie and TV show services: Netflix, HuluPlus, Vudu, and YouTube, with only Amazon VOD absent.
- Extremely easy to setup and use
- The NTV300′s 2D menu system is better suited than Roku’s 1D UI for browsing a large library of channels and customizing the homescreen with favorite channels.
- Rock-solid stability.
- Low power operation with ultra-low power deep-sleep mode; fanless and silent.
- Extremely compact.
- Ethernet and 1080p are standard on all models, despite competing price-wise with Roku’s low-end models.
- Top model plays media from USB files and DLNA network shares
- Top two models offer Intel WiDi screen mirroring
- Top model’s remote control includes QWERTY keys
- Really could use AirPlay streams rendering, this is an another area where Netgear could leapfrog Roku’s devices.
- We wish the remote control used RF wireless, especially since the device’s IR remote seems more directionally sensitive than Roku’s.
- Could use a web browser function, enabling users to stream from a specific URL or view a web page.
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